Iran signs deal with Russia to develop oil field
Iran has signed a deal reportedly worth up to one billion U.S. dollars with Russia's Tatneft to develop an oil field, a rare example of new foreign investment in a country under tight economic sanctions.
For a country under tight economic sanctions this was a big deal. Iran has signed an agreement with Russia’s Tatneft to develop the Zagheh oil field on the gulf coast of Bushehr province. Iran’s oil ministry says it hopes to produce 7,000 barrels a day in the first phase of the project, increasing significantly once phase two begins. Rostam Qasemi is the country’s oil minister. He said: "The deal will mean at least 50,000 barrels of heavy oil can be extracted per day. Fortunately the preliminary well has already been dug, so production can start."
The President of the southern republic of Tartarstan, where Tafneft is based, was in Tehran for the signing. He said he hoped for further economic co-operation with Iran, despite international sanctions over its nuclear program. Russia has criticized the sanctions but despite this deal there are few signs that Russian investors are rushing in to replace western ones.
AT&T ends $39bn bid for T-Mobile USA
US telecoms giant AT&T has said it will not pursue its $39bn bid to buy T-Mobile USA after running into fierce government objections.
AT&T said the actions of the government to block the deal do not change the problems faced by the mobile phone industry.
It says it still requires more airwaves to expand.
If AT&T had bought T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom, it would have become the US's largest cellphone company.
AT&T is currently the country's second-largest wireless carrier, while T-Mobile is the fourth-largest.
The US Justice Department moved to block the merger in August, saying it would reduce competition and lead to higher prices.
Last month, the companies cast doubt on whether they would go through with the plan when they withdrew their application to the Federal Communications Commission after its chairman also opposed the deal.
AT&T has said it would include a $4bn charge in its fourth-quarter accounts to cover any potential compensation due if the deal does not go ahead.
AT&T agreed to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in March, aiming to create the largest US wireless network.
North Korea's Sudden Power Shift Raises Uncertainty
The death of longtime North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and promotion of his untested son Kim Jong Un as his successor is fueling uncertainty about the secretive and impoverished state. Our reporter looks at how North Korea's leadership transition may unfold and how that process may affect Pyongyang's domestic reforms and relations with regional powers.
Kim Jong Un may be North Korea's next leader, but his influence within the North Korean leadership is not clear.
His late father Kim Jong Il appointed him to several top posts, including four-star general, only last year.
North Korean analyst Benjamin Habib of Australia's LaTrobe University says Kim Jong Un did not have much time to earn the trust of power brokers in the military and the ruling Korean Workers' Party.
"Does he have enough support among key figures so that this succession will run smoothly? If we recall, Kim Jong Il had 20 years' apprenticeship to solidify his patronage networks prior to his assumption of the throne in 1994," said Habib. "So there is a big question mark over how smoothly his succession is going to run."
Two prominent figures whose support would boost Kim Jong Un are his father's sister Kim Kong-Hui and her powerful husband, Jang Song-Thaek.
Jang expanded his influence as a key adviser to Kim Jong Il after the elder Kim suffered an apparent stroke in 2008.
Some experts say the older relatives of Kim Jong Un may see him as too young and inexperienced to take the seat of power, at least initially.
"An alternative might be that Kim Jong Un becomes a figurehead leader for a military dictatorship, something like collective military leadership that you would see in Myanmar [Burma], or it could be that Kim Jong Un is discarded completely in favor of a military dictatorship," said Habib.
John Swensen-Wright is a Korean politics expert at Chatham House in London. He believes the North Korean military is unlikely to stage a coup against the younger Kim for the time being.
"I think we are going to see an attempt to consolidate power and to provide reassurance to the North Korean people and most importantly to introduce and legitimize Kim Jong Un in the minds and hearts of ordinary North Koreans. That will take time," said Swensen-Wright.
As North Korea's transition process unfolds, another uncertainty is the fate of tentative economic reforms in the isolated communist state.
In recent years, young North Korean policy makers of Kim Jong Un's generation have boosted foreign investment from China. They also have opened their country to limited mobile phone and Internet services.
Habib says a key question facing North Korea's next leadership is whether to further open up an economy that has struggled to feed its people since the 1990s.
"If yes, that means that the international community has an opportunity to deal with this new government," he said. "If no, and we know that the system is inherently unstable, then that opens the door to possible state failure and systemic collapse."
North Korea's neighbors have long feared that chaos in that nation could send millions of North Koreans flooding across their borders. Tens of thousands of North Koreans already have crossed into China in recent years in search of food.
LaTrobe University analyst Habib says the risk of North Korea becoming a failed state will make regional powers more determined to resume six-party talks with Pyongyang as a way of managing any crisis.
North Korea withdrew from the talks in 2009. They were aimed at persuading Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in return for diplomatic and economic incentives.
Some experts say North Korea's sudden power transition also raises the risk that Pyongyang may take military action against its neighbors in a bid to rally North Koreans around their new leaders.
North Korean forces shelled a South Korean border island last year, an action Pyongyang credited to Kim Jong Un.
But Swensen-Wright of Chatham House says he expects North Korea to pursue a more pragmatic approach to regional relations.
"It is not a country that I think is prone to intentionally provoke or intentionally seek to destabilize the region. It wants to pursue its national interests, whether that is enhancing its security, or improving access to economic resources, or strengthening its diplomatic ties with its neighbors," he said.
Regional politics could become even more complicated next year, when South Korea holds a presidential election and goes through its own leadership transition.
Clinton: North Korea Should Follow ‘Path of Peace’ Following Kim’s Death
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is urging North Korea's new leadership to choose what she calls the “path of peace” following the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
Clinton said late Monday that she hoped North Korea would be committed to “improving relations with its neighbors and respecting the rights of its people.”
She also expressed concern about the well-being of the North Korean people, saying the U.S. was ready to help the isolated communist nation to “usher in a new era of peace, prosperity and lasting security” in the region.
Earlier, Clinton spoke with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, where she said the U.S. and Japan share a common interest in a stable and peaceful transition of power in Pyongyang. She also said both governments have been in close touch with other participants in the six-nation talks on North Korea's nuclear programs, including China, Russia and South Korea.
Meanwhile, President Barack Obama told Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda by telephone late Monday that Washington was committed to the defense of its allies and the stability of the Korean peninsula.
Mr. Obama spoke earlier Monday with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. A White House statement said Mr. Obama, in his talks with Mr. Lee, had reaffirmed Washington's strong commitment to “the security of our close ally, the Republic of Korea.” The statement said the leaders agreed to continue close coordination between their respective national security teams.
In Seoul, President Lee canceled all of his scheduled events, convened a National Security Council meeting and placed the South Korean military on emergency alert. South Korean media say aerial surveillance near the North Korean border has been stepped up.
The two Koreas have remained technically at war since 1953 when their three-year conflict ended only with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
China – North Korea's closest ally – offered condolences to the North Korean public, while Japanese Prime Minister Noda convened a meeting of senior advisors to formulate a response to the North Korean leader's death.
In New York, U.N. General-Secretary Ban Ki-moon offered condolences to the North Korean people and reaffirmed his long-standing commitment to peace and security on the Korean peninsula. The official gesture came as the U.N. General Assembly condemned human rights abuses in North Korea – a vote taken annually by the world body.
In London, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Mr. Kim's death could be a turning point for North Korea. He also said Pyongyang's engagement with the international community offers the North its best hope for improving the lives of ordinary North Koreans.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France is wary about the consequences of a power transfer in the secretive communist state. He voiced hope that North Korean citizens will gain expanded freedoms.
China backs Myanmar's development path based on its own conditions
Visiting Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo said Monday China always supports Myanmar to walk on a development path chosen in line with its own national conditions.
During his talks with Myanmar President U Thein Sein, Dai said the Chinese government adheres to a friendly policy toward Myanmar and the time-tested good neighborliness between the two nations has become an outstanding example for conducting state-to-state relations based on the five principles of peaceful coexistence.
He hopes the two sides could properly handle the problems in their cooperation by developing and expanding their cooperative ties so as to achieve better progress in all areas of cooperation.
Dai lauded the efforts the Myanmar government has made to push forward domestic political reconciliation and improve foreign relations. He believed the Myanmar government has the wisdom and ability to address the problems and challenges in the way forward.
A peaceful, stable, independent and prosperous Myanmar is in the common interests of the two nations, he added.
U Thein Sein said Myanmar highly values bilateral relations with China and will not allow any damage to the ties. The government is willing to push forward bilateral cooperation in energy, agriculture and major projects to boost their comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation.
They made the remarks during Dai's attendance at the 4th Summit of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS)-Economic Cooperation Program in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar's administrative capital.
Dai said China is an active participant, staunch supporter and one of the beneficiaries of the GMS cooperation. China will continue to be a part of the cooperation, increasing investment and making more contributions.
Amnesty Says UN Failed to Prevent Exodus From Southern Sudan
An international rights group says United Nations peacekeepers failed to stop Sudanese troops from driving more than 100,000 people from their homes in the country's southern border region last May.
Amnesty International says the U.N. troops took no meaningful action to prevent Sudanese forces and allied militia from attacking people's homes in the town of Abyei.
In a report Tuesday on the events of last May, the group said virtually the entire population of Abyei was forced to flee and anything of value in the town was looted.
The London-based group said Sudan's army blew up the bridge linking Abyei to South Sudan to prevent people from returning home and said U.N. peacekeepers did nothing to stop the action.
Amnesty said former U.N. peacekeepers told the group that a decision was made not to militarily engage with Sudanese troops because they were better equipped.
U.N. officials were not immediately available to comment on the report.
Amnesty said there is no clear picture of how many people died or were injured in Abyei last May, and it called on the U.N. to ensure there is a proper investigation.
Abyei is in Sudan's southern region next to the new country of South Sudan, which became independent in July.
There was to be a referendum on the future of Abyei, but it never happened because Sudan and South Sudan could not agree on who was qualified to vote.
US asks Iran to free man who 'confessed' to CIA plot
The US has asked Iran to free "without delay" a US man of Iranian descent described by Tehran as a CIA spy.
Amir Mirzai Hekmati confessed he had been sent to infiltrate Iranian intelligence services on state TV.
A spokeswoman for the State Department told the BBC the US had requested access to Mr Hekmati through the embassy of Switzerland, which serves as an intermediary between the countries.
His family denied their son was involved in espionage.
son is no spy. He is innocent. He's a good fellow, a good citizen, a good man," Ali Hekmat told ABC News. "These are all unfounded allegations and a bunch of lie s."
A state department spokeswoman told the BBC: "The Iranian regime has a history of falsely accusing people of being spies, of eliciting forced confessions, and of holding innocent foreigners for political reasons."
On Sunday, the Iranian TV report on Sunday said Mr Hekmati had come to the attention of Iranian agents at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, before he went to Iran.
He was shown speaking Farsi and English, describing his alleged mission to infiltrate Iran's intelligence ministry.
The report said Mr Hekmati joined the US Army in 2001 and received special training before being sent to Iran.
According to the Ali Hekmati, his son did join the US military in 2001, but served in the Marines, where he was an Arabic translator.
Iran's government has repeatedly accused the United States of carrying out covert intelligence operations in order to undermine it.
In May, Tehran claimed it had detained a network of 30 CIA operatives, saying they had been involved in espionage and sabotage.
Last week, Iran indicted 15 people on charges of spying for America and Israel but gave few other details.
Arrest Warrant Issued for Iraq’s Vice President on Terrorism Charges
The Shi'ite-led government in Iraq has issued an arrest warrant for the Sunni vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, a move that is seen as evidence of a deepening political crisis in the wake of the U.S. military withdrawal from that country.
A spokesman for Iraq's Interior Ministry said Hashemi is accused of terrorism. The accusation is based on what were described as confessions by three of his bodyguards who said they planted bombs targeting Iraqi government and security officials.
A Hashemi aide, while acknowledging the three men work for the vice president, denied the terrorism allegations.
Hashemi is reported to be in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region for talks with Kurdish officials. He could not be reached for comment.
The Obama administration has expressed concern over the development. A White House spokesman said the United States urges “all sides to work to resolve differences peacefully through dialogue in a manner consistent with the rule of law.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki earlier called for a no-confidence vote in parliament against another leading Sunni politician, Deputy Prime Minister Salem al-Mutlaq. In an interview with VOA's Kurdish service, Mutlaq called Mr. Maliki a dictator and urged the United States to revisit its policy on Iraq.
Both Hashemi and Mutlaq are leaders of Iraq's mostly Sunni Iraqiya political bloc, part of the country's coalition government. But its members walked out of parliament on Saturday, accusing Mr. Maliki of seizing power.
On Sunday, the last convoy of U.S. troops departed Iraq for neighboring Kuwait, leaving behind a few hundred soldiers to guard the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. President Barack Obama said the end of the U.S. occupation means the future of Iraq is “in the hands of its own people.”
Canada to revoke citizenship
In the wake of what has been described as heightened fraudulent claims for asylum in Canada by Vincentians and other Caribbean nationals, the Canadian government says that it intends to revoke the citizenship of at least 1,800 immigrants who allegedly used fraudulent means to become Canadians.
Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said most of the targeted individuals were counselled by three or four “crooked immigration consultants” on how to concoct fake proof of residency in Canada.
Under Canada’s immigration laws, a person must live in the country for three out of four years in order to become a citizen.
“Sadly, there is an industry of what we call unscrupulous agents operating around the world who sell advice on how to take advantage of Canada to break our laws,” said Kenney in addressing the Economic Club of Toronto.
“And there are some people – thankfully, I think a small minority – who are prepared to pay big money in order to falsely obtain Canadian citizenship,” he added, stating that the vast majority of the 1,800 allegedly fraudulent citizenships were facilitated by three or four immigration consultants. He did not identify the nationalities of the immigrants or the alleged fraudsters.
“What they did was hire crooked citizenship consultants to create fake proof of residency in Canada so that they can get citizenship and access to our health care and subsidized tuition rates,” continued the Canadian immigration minister. “But, at the same time, [they] stayed overseas without contributing to the Canadian tax base.”
By launching this enforcement action, Kenney said Ottawa is “sending the message that Canadian citizenship is not for sale.”
In a recent exposé, The Toronto Star, under the caption, “SVG - Is this Caribbean Idyll the Worst Place in the World to be a Woman,” said that the majority of Vincentians flocking to Canada, seeking refugee status, are women, who, it appears, are “fleeing domestic violence.”
The paper said that while Hungary, China, Namibia, Colombia and Mexico are among the top 10 countries from which refugee claims to Canada are made, “one of the world’s tiniest nations has started appearing on the list, a place many Canadians couldn’t find on a map: St. Vincent and the Grenadines.”
The Star said that, last year, 710 Vincentians sought asylum in Canada, up from only 179 in 2001, and that, over the past decade, it adds up to more than 4,500 refugee claimants — “or 4.3 per cent of the tiny Caribbean archipelago’s population.
“Proportionally, it’s as if the entire populations of Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador were to flee Canada,” the paper said.
“Last year, this ‘Jewel of the Caribbean’ ranked 8th in the world for refugee claims to Canada, surpassing India (population 1.2 billion) and Pakistan (population 187 million). The population of St. Vincent and the Grenadines? An estimated 104,000,” it added.
“There is something very wrong in the relationship between men and women in St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” the Star quoted Canadian Federal Court Justice Sean Harrington in a 2009 ruling.
“Year after year, woman after woman washes up on our shores seeking protection from abusive, violent husbands or boyfriends,” he added.
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who is also Minister of Legal Affairs, has cautioned that increasing claims for asylum in Canada could result in that country revisiting its immigration policy with Kingstown.
“What will change is that if Vincentians continue to make these false claims, the whole country will suffer, because Canada will require visas, which they don’t require at the moment,” he told local radio listeners.
T&T Aviation chief calls on Caricom states: Adhere to revised Chag treaty
Director general of the T&T Civil Aviation Authority (TTCAA) Ramesh Lutchmedial has called on his Caricom counterparts to follow in T&T’s footsteps and fully comply with the aviation requirements of the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas. He said T&T was the only country whose aviation laws and regulations met the necessary requirements. He noted that the revised treaty required removal of all barriers and restrictions in the area of air transportation and harmonisation of standards for the licensing of pilots and air carriers. Lutchmedial was speaking at the graduation ceremony of 20 licensed aircraft maintenance engineers of the Art Williams and Harry Wendt Engineering School in Guyana on Friday, at the Ogle International Airport.
Lutchmedial, chairman of the Caribbean Safety and Oversight System, was the guest speaker. Newly-installed Guyana president Donald Ramoutar delivered the feature address. Lutchmedial called on his regional aviation colleagues to collaborate to establish a world class aviation training product to develop the next generation of aviation leaders in the Caribbean. He boasted of T&T’s lead in the industry, offering three master’s degree programmes in aviation, in partnership with the City University of London which are expected to commence next year. The programmes will be facilitated at the TTCAA’s new aviation complex at Caroni North Bank Road, Piarco. Lutchmedial said the complex would be officially opened early next year.
He said any Caricom citizen could obtain a T&T commerical pilot’s licence or an air operators’ certificate which was necessary for operating an airline. He added that because of provisions in T&T’s aviation laws, Jamaicans were able to obtain their licences to fly aircraft operated by Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL). He said, however, that a T&T citizen could not do the same, since those seeking to obtain a licence out of Jamaican could only fly a registered Jamaican aircraft on the basis of a validation granted at the discretion of that country’s aviation authorities. Ramoutar said Ogle International Airport would soon be able to accommodate the ATR-72 aircraft now being operated by CAL. He also outlined plans for building a modern passenger jet terminal at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport which will be complemented by a four-lane highway from the airport to Georgetown.